


Uneven Odds

by Waywardgoose



Series: Ironwitch pals [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Found Family Feels, Gen, Hurt Wanda Maximoff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper is a saint, They both get one too, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Trauma, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, accidental adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 17:32:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18529825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waywardgoose/pseuds/Waywardgoose
Summary: Tony Stark didn't expect he'd get left with babysitting the emotionally wrecked superpowered teen they'd aquired. He didn't expect he'd end up caring about her, either.





	Uneven Odds

_You’re much too young now_

_So I write these words down,_

_“Darkness exists to make light truly count.” - Sleeping at Last_

* * *

 

 

When Steve first approached him with the request to babysit the witch, Tony had to try desperately hard not to make a scene. However outlandish the idea was, even Tony wasn’t going to laugh at a funeral. At _Pietro Maximoff’s_ funeral.

“What’s wrong with Barton?” The Archer had made a point of forcing the kid to eat, sleep and try everything humanly possible to get her to speak with more than one word answers. Clint already invited her to spend holidays with his family out of whatever guilt he was dealing with over Pietro’s death.

  
“No space- the baby’s due any day apparently” Steve glanced back to the young woman kneeling beside the open casket, her fingers dancing through her dead brother’s hair. It was morbid and tender and made the Captain's heart ache. “It’s only be a month or so. Just until the compound is ready. We can't leave her in a cell…I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to”

Tony followed Steve’s gaze to her, idly noting how impossibly small and lost she seemed. Wanda wasn’t fragile, she could level a city with the wave of her hand, but there was a tug in the engineer’s chest that made him want to protect her. It reminded him of how poisonous frogs have the brightest colours.

  
“What if we don’t have space for her either? You _know_ she wants to kill me right?”

“ _Tony_ ” Pepper elbowed him hard. “We’ll be glad to take her”

  
If Tony was being totally honest, it really wasn't that much of a problem in the end. They gave her a guest bedroom with an ensuite that had her bug eyed and fear stricken when Pepper showed her how many buttons there was for the bathtub.

The only real issue the had was getting her out her room again. At first, they put it down to grief and culture shock. Every Time he’d checked in with FRIDAY, she was in bed. it sounded like she didn't get out of bed at all- she'd well and truly checked out. Pepper being the saint she was took it upon herself to drop by several times in the day, between business meetings and conference calls without any thanks.

Pepper took care it how she took care of all things - thoroughly and efficiently. The first time he had to acknowledge the elephant in the room of _'messed up teen living in our guest room'_ was when Pepper went back to work after the weekend. “I’ve got to deal with the board, PR is having a hard time with the fallout from all the excitement. Can you get Wanda lunch?”

“What is this room service? The witch _has_ got legs hasn’t she? she can find her own food"

“Tony _please_ . Just be nice for a _day_ ” There was a desperation to her tone that had him wondering if Pepper felt guilty about the STARK bomb too. She shouldn’t, she hadn’t designed them after all, but she was CEO of the company that, as Wanda so eloquently put it in a fit of rage, was formed on _‘the bones and bodies of innocents’_.

It was a guilt he’d been tending to well. Wanda Maximoff was living proof of how his prior nonchalance with where his weapons went could haunt him, she was the monster under his bed- a monster his bomb had trapped there. If ordering a second burrito could help ease the bad blood between them in some way it was a price he was willing to pay.

“Tell her highness that food is ready.”

“Sure boss” the AI chirped.

When half an hour passed without any sign of life, Tony tried pounding on her door to no result. For a brief, terrifying moment Tony wondered if the girl could have killed herself and it was enough of a worry for him to throw caution to the wind and barge into the room.

There was a lump in the bed that may or may not have contained a teenager. The espresso hair trailed on the pillows was the only proof of life, but there wasn’t any movement and Tony wouldn’t put it past her to cut her hair off in some dramatic disney-esque escape that ended with her jumping out the window and starting a new life in the woods.

 If he was being honest with himself, he kind of hoped that she’d do that. It would be better for the both of them and she was feral enough to survive out there. (Hell, she wore so much kohl around her eyes he was sure family of raccoons would take her in as one of their own.)

 “Hey, Witch. if you want food come out now” The duvet flinched and he waited a few moments. “I said _Now,_ Maximoff”

 “ _Nem_ ” the lump replied weakly. so she could speak. Brat.

 “Fine then. don’t eat”

 

(He regretted that at four in the morning)

 

After a relaxing session in his workshop (tinkering with his new designs for Romanoff’s updated spider bites) and FRIDAY’s ‘It’s been 36 hours since you slept’ reminder, he made his way back up to the penthouse. That's how he caught the Sokovian eating out the trash can like some kind of animal. Well shit. Maybe she really was a racoon now.

 “Uh, Maximoff? What are you doing?” He didn’t deserve this he _paid_ his taxes. It was too early in the day for this, insomnia or not.

Wanda’s cheeks flared and shifted onto the balls of her feet like she was going to break for the door. They watched each other for a few moments, Waiting for the other to move when her stomach growled. She placed a hand on her belly, eyes flashing in disbelief and shame as though her body betrayed her somehow.  

 “So you were hungry? Why didn’t you take from the fridge?”

 "I’m not thief” She snapped- her accent heavier than normal. Tony nodded, trying to follow her logic. Technically stealing from the rubbish bin _still_ made her a thief but he didn't chase up on that thought at risk of getting a turned into a frog or cursed into an ogre like princess Fiona. Truthfully, he really didn’t know what her magic did beyond ‘ _glow red, mindfuckery and explode stuff_ '

 “jeez. _OK_ . When I said no food I meant you know” he turned his palms out trying to calm her then lowered them to his sides. _Not an animal_ he reminded himself _._ “just. you don't have to do this here alright? Come on. I'll make you a grilled cheese”

 Wanda’s brows knitted together “ _grilled cheese_?”

 “What, don’t have them In Sokovia? Well today's a lucky day, sweetheart”

 She didn’t take her eyes away from his hands as he made it and Tony Idly wondered if she thought he was going to poison her (he wasn’t offended- he wouldn’t be accepting any food from her anytime soon either). When he finally cast a quick glance in his direction, she didn’t look on edge but rather intrigued, her cheeks flushed and mouth open slightly, brow furrowed as if she were trying to memorise what he was doing.

 The teen waited until he started to chow down on his before she took a tentative bite.  

Wanda’s eyes widened in surprise and any pretense of restraint disappeared as she wolfed the snack down, burning her tongue as she stuffed her face. Well damn, if Tony took her to dinner with Rhodey he’d never get shit for poor table manners again. It was only when she started licking her fingers did the older man notice the tears tracking her cheeks.

 “you know normal people just say thanks” He scoffed. Wanda looked ashamed, folded back into herself. Unwelcomed guilt struck through him, she messed with his mind but he somehow felt bad for upsetting the little savage?

 “ …i haven't had cooked um…haven’t ate?” She stopped, brows knitted and teeth gritted as she tried again “No one cooked food for we, myself? since Mama” by the time she’d fumbled her way through the tears started to fall quicker- from embarrassment or grief he couldn’t tell.

 “ _Thank you_ ” Wanda looked down at her shaking hands, moved them under the table as if she could hide them from him. “Thank you a lot. I forget food could be like this”

 Tony could probably have guessed that but hearing it out loud felt like a punch. The cogs of his mind conjured images of ten year old Wanda newly homeless, parentless and left on the streets. Of the following eight years of dubious scraps from soup kitchens (did Sokovia _have_ soup kitchens?), take out bought with stolen money, raiding trash (What if there were needles? He’d seen the drug problem oh _god-_ )

 He hoped it wasn’t quite so dramatic, that his anxiety was spiralling out for nothing. Tried to convince himself there was someone, at some point, who cared for the twins his weapons destroyed. He had literally just caught her raiding his trash can though, so there was a good chance it could have been worse than he’d be able to imagine.

So his bleeding heart took the wheel, threw caution to the wind and tried desperately to fix the mess his bombs had caused. “If you stop sulking long enough to leave your bedroom, lunch is at twelve and dinner at six” and then in a moment of pettiness added “You have to set the table. and do the dishes after”

 “huh?” The witch blinked her big watery eyes.

 “you heard me. Wash up when you're done” Tony waltzed out and made a mental note to ask FRIDAY to set up a chore list. And tell Pepper that they've suddenly gained house rules.

The list quickly became a full schedule of sweeping and mopping and dusting and reorganizing everything under the sun. The cacti he was certain his neglect had killed seemed to flourish under her care (and though she swore no witchcraft was involved, it flowered rather suddenly and she took over).

 Given their limited history with the girl, and how precarious newformed rules could be, Tony found himself pleasantly surprised to see the young witch following them closely. Out of politeness or fear or something else he wasn’t quite sure, but It was amusing to watch her try find new ways to wash the dishes telekinetically, or catch her levitating when mopping the floors.   

 She didn’t protest him, she didn’t snark back. She _obeyed_ , however begrudgingly, and that’s what made all the gears of his brain click.  

 Steve had really seemed to believe coddling her was the way forwards, giving her space to try and navigate her new world alone. Maybe that would have worked eight years ago, if they’d been there to pull her and Pietro free from the fresh remains of their home.

 (and Tony tried really damn hard to not feel guilty. It wasn’t their responsibility. The avengers couldn’t be there for every fight, not when a country has been continuously tearing itself to pieces since it’s start)

 The truth was Wanda didn’t _need_ coddling. She needed rules and structure and guidance and all the things she’d been stripped of when a pair of traumatised ten year olds were left to navigate the streets alone. The girl had been on a path of self destruction for so long it had nearly destroyed the fractured remains of her country in the process. It didn’t make her beyond redemption. She just needed someone to point her in the right direction, and maybe Pepper could be gentle and kind and all the nurturing, motherly things the young witch had lacked, but someone had to be bad cop.

 Besides, she _did_ fuck with his head. She was the monster under his bed as much as he was the monster under hers. His therapist wouldn’t begrudge him for tormenting her (and her frankly bizarre fear of wet sponges) a little.

 

It was 3:22 AM when the screams first echoed across the penthouse. Whatever. It wasn’t like _he_ was sleeping.

He stood in the doorway, watching as she clawed at the silk bed sheets, mumbling a jumbled mess of English and Sokovian and god knows what else. “ _Pietro”_

 She jolted suddenly, red sparking at her fingertips. Her eyes met his and she stiffened and an entirely different look of fear spread across her face. He wanted to tell her it wasn’t like that, learn what happened to make the scariest young woman he knew look so fragile and afraid.

 Instead he gave a pointed stare. “Do you get them a lot?”

 "Yes” _Good_. Tony wanted to throw it in her face. Tell her Karma’s a bitch, that it serves her right for what she did to them.

 “Come on. Ice cream helps.”  

 She followed him out, face pinched in weary confusion. Yesterday’s eye makeup was smeared down cheeks from fresh tear tracks.   

 Wanda hovered awkwardly by the door until Tony told her to get two bowls and forced her to take a seat at the breakfast bar.  

 Wanda made a high, keening noise. Tony wasn’t sure how she could make such a sound bar demonic possession. “What- Why- _Poison_?” She clutched at her head, eyes flashing with panic and betrayal. Scarlet energy spiralled from her, wrapped around her possessively as if it to defend her from an ongoing attack.

 “Wanda no- sweetheart that’s just brain freeze” Tony grinned, desperately suppressing his laugh. “You’ve never had ice cream before?”

 “War zone?!” She sobbed out, the scarlet energy lashing out wildy in her defense.

He didn’t think of that. Damn. Dick move again. “it’ll pass alright? Lets not explode the kitchen”

Moments later, the scarlet mist evaporated, the light glow beneath her skin the only sign of any prior discord.

“One time, we ate snow when we was hungry in winter. This, this is my first brain freeze” She said the words as though they were new to her, testing them out one after another. He tried to ignore the twist of emotion her anecdote gave, put it aside for him to deal with at a later time when the world didn’t feel so liminal and strange.

Three weeks prior, when they were sat around licking their wounds from her damn magic show he’d never have dreamed they’d been sharing raw emotion at a stupidly early (or stupidly late) time of day. He’d never have imagined it would be so...relaxing, either.

“Hey, Mister Stark?” She looked up from the bowl. That was new. It was always _‘Stark’_ half spat in anger and disgust as though it were a poison. “I’m sorry, about what I did to you and your friends. I’m...so sorry. It was wrong and I wish I could take it back, make it better”

“Yeah? I’m sorry about your parents, too”  
“I’m sorry I blamed you for so long. And I’m sorry I messed with your mind”

 _I’m sorry you’re brothers dead and now your alone and it's my fault_. He couldn't bring himself to say it yet, refusing to ruin whatever tentative peace they’d made. “Ok. _Ok_ , Let’s just agree we’re both sorry”

Wanda cautiously held her hand out as if an attempt to shake it. Tony blinked, almost left her hanging, but reached over and squeezed it lightly. Her entire face lit up in a small smile, so Tony counted it as a win. Not quite friends, but no longer worst nightmares either.

“You are a good person, Tony Stark. Maybe a bad person, but a good one too” She said it was such a certainness it left him feeling uneasy. Language barrier aside, Wanda seemed to see the world through a child’s gaze and old woman cynicism all at once, the result of growing up and being frozen in time all at once. 

“And that sentence made absolutely no sense, just like you Wanda Maximoff” then after a moment he added “But you’re not the hellspawn I thought you were, either” she frowned a little as if trying to work out if he insulted her or not. 

“Do you have family? You have such big home, but only Pepper lives here”

“Not really. My parents are dead” It’s something he hates bringing up, a footnote in his life that still aches something rotten, a scab that won’t heal. The look Wanda gives him isn’t pity but understanding.

“I’m sorry. Family is sacred” She said plainly.

“Well, my dad was kind of an ass so”

“Mm, but family does not always mean blood. You and the avengers are family yes?” Tony scratched at his goatee, unsure how to answer such a statement.

“I don’t think they’d see it that way”

Wanda cautiously lapped at the spoon in her hand, as if expecting another jolt of shock from the half melted ice cream. “They should. You deserve to be loved”

Tony blinked. He was half certain it was an auditory hallucination. Lack of sleep and stress can do funny things, that was probably all it was. “Sorry _what_ was that?”

She rolled her eyes, slid down from the stool she’d been perched on. “Ugh. You heard me, old man _Goodnight_ ”

 

It wasn’t super surprising that Wanda gave up and dragged herself out of bed at eight in the morning, still in the black tank top and frilly sleep shorts she’d been sporting in the early hours. She didn’t look like she’d managed to get anymore sleep since then, either. Tony kind of wished she’d stuck around, it was nice having someone to talk with when the rest of the world was down for the count.

“She lives” Tony raised his coffee mug to her in greeting. “So Capsicle called. He wants me to sort you a uniform. Any colour preference?”

Wanda stumbled to the fridge yawning and poured a glass of milk. “Black”

“Not a colour, goth girl”

“Red then”  

“Nothing more creative? Some yellow to reflect your sunny disposition?” he teased. She glowered at him till he raised his hands in mock defeat. “Alright! Red and black it is”

 

When he resurfaced from the workshop for lunch, Wanda was heating a pan of soup and singing along to _Immigrant Song._ It sounded a little funny in her accent, but it was nice. The Wanda from a a few weeks ago wouldn’t have been able to sing, so maybe they were doing some good.

“Led Zeppelin?” he smirked to himself when she jumped in surprise. There was a certain joy that could only be aquired in startling a telepath.   

“Pietro likes them” They both catch the mistake at the same time, but she doesn’t make to correct it and he doesn’t want to be the jerk that does.

“So what do you like?”

“We are, were the same, his likes and my dislikes? All tangles, like spaghetti” her cheeks flushed and she rubbed the back of her neck, a habit Tony was pretty sure she stole from him. “Oh! But one girl I like a lot, uhhh ‘ _hey hey you you, I don’t like your girlfriend_ ’” She sang softly, bopping her head from side to side. Tony wondered if it was a fragment of a past hobby, tried to imagine a younger Wanda dancing around her childhood home.

He groaned theatrically. “ _Avril Lavigne_? God, that explains so much about you. Go look up ACDC”

She mumbled something in Sokovian, a small sugar sweet smile on her face as she dished out the tomato soup. “I bet it’s old man music”  

 

Later when Pepper was sat in his lap and they were making out till their lips hurt, _thunderstruck_ blasted through Wanda’s bedroom door. The music stopped just as quickly as it started, followed by a string of what Tony _thinks_ is sokovian curse words and a incredibly sheepish “ _Sorry_ ” yelled through the wall.

Pepper sighed into his chest and moved off of him, the mood they carefully cultivated destroyed in seconds. Trust the witch to ruin date night.

“Ohhh Roger’s better hurry up and call or I'm gonna _kill_ the kid”

 "Oh hush, you like her too"

 

It didn’t really hit home how familial they’d become till he watched the young Sokovian speed eat her paella at dinner. She’d been acting a little off all day, more skittish than usual, He’d caught her staring at the ceiling with a look of terror on her face more than once but it wasn’t till dinner he knew there was something _wrong_ wrong. Ever since the grilled cheese, Wanda _never_ ate that quickly, prefering to savour each bite as if it were her last. Tony wasn’t entirely sure why he knew that, but whatever. He could think on that later.

“I’ll do the dishes later” she called over her shoulder, her socks slipping on the tiles as she half ran to the door.

“Uhh, slow down, Sabrina. Where are you going?” Wanda stopped dead, her hand hovered over the door knob. She stiffened, her stance shifting instantly into something almost defensive.  

“Out. I’m going out.”

“Oh honey, you can’t” Pepper started. Wanda whirled on the spot to face them, her hands clasped in front of her waist as if she were about to pray.

“Of course I can, if you lock door I can unlock with my magic”

“You shouldn’t really be doing that, even for your own home” Pepper didn’t seem to notice the slip, but Tony didn’t protest it either. It had only been a month, but they were so used to having her around.

“But I need to drink, a strong drink, There is um...uh, Tavern? down the street-”

“No”

“ _No_? uh, Bar then maybe?” Wanda stepped away from the doorway, tilted her head in confusion as she tried to find the right word.

“No, as in no you’re not going out. I’m not about to spend my evening explaining to the cops how an undocumented, _underage_ Sokovian in my care was found getting high at some seedy club”  He told her with a level of sternness that suprised even him.

Tony could have sworn her face went through all five stages of grief before rounding onto anger. “You are not my Father!” She snapped.  

“Small miracles" He said through gritted teeth.

The temper tantrum that followed was kind of spectacular. Lots of red sparks and a shattered window later she stormed off in the direction of her room. Tony didn't really care that she’d broken his window, it was actually pleasantly surprising that she didn’t choose that moment to snap and attack him.

“what are you an animal? Come back and clean this mess up”

 

He found her on the roof with a bottle of vodka that looked _awfully_ familiar to the one he’d just noticed was missing from his stash. Whatever. one problem at a time.

“Glinda, whatever you're hoping to find it's not going to be at the bottom of a bottle. Trust me, I've tried it”

Wanda scowled, staring him dead in the eye whilst she took a large swig.

“does Rogers know you drink? He won't be happy about it” it was easier than he expected to get the bottle from her grip. Wanda didn’t seem to want to fight anything anymore.

“Does it matter? I'm an adult, _Stark_ ” she moaned, uncoordinated hands scrambling for the bottle.

“ _Barely_ and that doesn't make you legal here. Save it till you’re 21” god was he really becoming _that_ person? Hypocrisy has a name and it’s Tony Stark, apparently. Still, if stopping an idiot with magical powers from falling off rails meant he was a hypocrite so be it.

“can you stand?” she shook her head, slouching further till she was lying on the concrete, her eyes stuck on the few visible stars.

“It feels like a cage” and with that heartbreaking confession Tony thought about escaping the cave, how the milky way burned cold above him like some kind of miracle. “It keeps happening, the world. Everything” Her words scrambled together, the vodka slurring her voice making her accent almost indecipherable but he still understood her, deep down.  

It had taken him months to get used to the feeling of a sky again once he was free. She'd barely had a month since escaping Hydra’s clutches. (and just like that, the underage drinking wasn’t his biggest worry.)

“I know” because he _did_ know, maybe better than anyone else in the team. “I can't let you sleep out here though”

“I _can't_ sleep” her voice was so young it's painful to hear.

“Ok. _Ok_ I’ll cut you a deal. Come inside and we can leave the balcony doors wide open. If it gets too much you can leap out for all I care”

“you won't lock me in?” The ache in her voice broke his heart in a million different ways and in that moment Tony made a promise to himself, to keep her away from those who’d cage her again.

“no sweetheart, I never will” He hoped she was listening, feared that she might actually remember.

The air felt heavy, she seemed to be in a silent battle of her own, weighing up all the hurt and rot that was between them. They we’re the cause of each other's nightmares, yes, but they _understood_ those nightmares in a way nobody else could.

“Tony?” The name felt foreign on her tongue, her accent heavier and thicker as she slurred her words. “I trust you” he wasn't sure how to react, so he didn't say anything.

She followed him in and sits on the white leather sofa. Eyes darting to the balcony every few minutes, but otherwise she calms. It works. (Of course it does- it worked for him didn't it?) and Tony is a little greatful for his long line of therapists.

Wanda didn’t argue when Tony made her drink water just like Tony didn’t argue when Wanda stole from his coffee mug. He did smirk a little, when she discovered it was cold (it was her fault it went forgotten after all).

“karma’s a bitch, Maximoff. Now scoot up and pick a movie” 

They were still watching Lilo and stitch when Wanda finally started to drift off, her head lulled onto the older man’s shoulder.

“ _Otac....ne ostavljaj_ ”

And Tony had no clue what _that_ means but it felt like it's meant for him so he pulled her a little closer and murmured into the crown of her head “OK kid, you’re ok”

 

Pepper found them in the morning, Wanda curled into his side like an oversized cat, her eyes still puffy with tears. Tony’s arms were slung around around her like a protective shield from the cool spring air.

She threw a blanket on them (then texted a photo to Nat) but It wasn’t until their morning run that she confronted Tony about it. They’d stopped for a drink of water but Tony had ran out of his own bottle and resulted to using Pepper’s so she used the rare moment of quiet from him to her full advantage.

“So. Wanda’s doing well” She started, a smile tugging on her lips. “I think you’ve growing attached”

Maybe he was. It was like peering through a looking glass at a slightly more warped and broken version of his younger self. She needed someone, just how he used to.

But just cause it was true, didn’t mean he’d have to admit it.

“I caught her drinking from the faucet again yesterday. It’s like having the dog I always wanted”

Pepper raised an incredulous eyebrow. “You don’t actually believe that”

She was right of course, but Occam’s razor said crazy magic powers was more likely than him growing attached to walking proof of all the lives his weapons stole. He changed the topic quickly and (Saint she was) Pepper didn’t press any further.

 

When they'd gotten back, sweaty and pleasantly exhausted they found out Steve had paperwork sent over for Wanda to fill in. Legal jargon asking her for the name to put on a body bag, for her to sign away her life in six different ways incase her family comes back from the grave with intentions to claim insurance.

The debate surrounding her status as a _human being_ seemed to have found its way onto paper and whilst Tony had no doubts it was because of the political backlash surrounding the Sokovia incident, certain parts of it didn't sit well.

_‘…. upon termination of this contract, the enhanced individual shall remain registered and monitored. Any unauthorised use of abilities will result in containment in a SHIELD sanctioned facility…’_

Tony scanned through the words again and sure enough the whole forty-four pages could be summarized with “die fighting or die in captivity” Well shit.

It was going to be fine. Contracts could be fixed, his army of lawyers could be sent to work at what they do best- adding loopholes and retirement clauses so she wouldn't be totally condemning herself to a life under a microscope. The fact he even had to do that made him irrationally angry but Stark was a genius afterall and the logical part of him understood _why_ they'd want her caged if she refused to be kept in check.

The world just discovered her existence, the force of a nuclear bomb at her fingertips, powers that could level cities if she dared? Girls like Wanda Maximoff belonged in myths. (But in a world where a norse _God_ rocks up to earth for movie night once a month the lines were starting to blur.) 

Maximoff didn't seem to care, instead she’d sat on the floor in front of Pepper and started to paint a garish blue onto his girlfriends nails.

“Have you actually read this?” He huffed in annoyance.

“No-”

“No? _No_?” Tony scowled “This isn’t a game, it’s your damn future-”

“But” She started again. He threw the pages next to her before she could finish and she stared up at him, all wide eyed and afraid. 

“No excuses, Maximoff” 

“But I _can't_ read” The tips of Wanda’s ears went pink.

Oh. _Nice one, Stark_ he scolded himself. Pepper jumped in to save his ass “you speak english so well! how did you learn it?”

“it's all we hear in the hydra cells. We learn it the hard way, but I'm fast to learn” He decided not to correct her English anymore. It suddenly felt in poor taste.

“They didn’t teach you it at school?” Tony thought of the cave, of his small smattering of Arabic and Chinese and Farsi words. How it felt being surrounded by enemies talking about you in words that sound alien. At least his enemies didn't cut him up and experiment on him.  
  
Wanda shuddered, haunted by things no one else could see. “We couldn’t go after the bomb hit”

Maximoff just carried on painting Pepper's nails like she didn't drop a metaphorical bombshell in return. The files all said the twins were orphaned at ten. Could she read her own damn language? Or write? Could she do _maths_? What kind of avenger- what kind of eighteen year old couldn’t do maths?

He swallowed and looked to Pepper for support. Pepper being the Saint she was cleared her throat.

“ _I’ll_ go over the documents with you, sweetie. You can tell me if there’s anything you need help with- It’s all legal nonsense anyway, birthday, address, Emergency contact-”

“I don’t...do I need one?” Wanda asked, a panicked edge to her voice. Of course she doesn’t have one, Tony noted dully. She doesn’t have _anyone_ anymore.

Pepper didn’t even glance at Tony to check in with him before she declared “you can put us down”

They had to google how to spell Wanda’s middle name as she couldn’t remember what it looked like in Cyrillic. It’s how Tony learnt her mother was Roma and she thought her father was Polish. There were lots of things about her life half lost- more so now all these tiny details died with Pietro, and it felt like a great deal of trust is being given to him when Wanda told these things.

He stayed in the room while Pepper teaches her to write her name. It takes most of the afternoon- long enough that he started mulling over whether or not to order a stack of pizzas when Pepper finally bumped shoulders with the teen and declared “you did it!”

He put down the StarkPad he’d been doing work on and leaned over to see. Sure enough in blue ink the words _Wanda Rozalia Maximoff_. It was a little shaky from nervous hands just learning the alphabet but It made Tony’s heart squeeze. 

Wanda stiffened waiting to get mocked. Instead, Tony patted her shoulder and calmly said “nice job, Wanda _Rozalia_ Maximoff” Once the moment of shock faded from her face, the young witch glowed with delight and the look of pride on Pepper’s face was so damn infectious he couldn’t help but feel it too.

After that Tony made a point of praising her more often as if he could make up for all lost years of affection she should have gotten. He’d hurt her in a way he couldn’t fix, and someday she might realise that, but it was important to at least try and ease the damage.

 

The nightmares didn't get any better, but they came to an unspoken schedule for those sleepless nights. She'd sit with him in his laboratory and silently watch him tinkering away until he needed something floating over, he’d introduce her to new ‘ _dad_ ’ music. They never talked about their dreams but sometimes they talked about everything else.

Conspiracy theories were debated (neither believed any exciting ones) favourite colours exchanged (they were both rather partial to red). Her restless presence became a constant in his schedule and one he genuinely enjoyed. 

They never talked about anything serious though, which is why it surprised him when she _did_.

“My Mama and Tata” and whilst Tony knew it was just the language difference, hearing Wanda call them that made him feel old and her feel young- maybe too young to be an Avenger. “I can’t remember their faces”

“You were a child when you lost them” when a bomb he designed took them from her- god it felt like he'd never escape that. “It’s not fair, but it's normal”

“Mm... but what if I lose _everything_?” She pulled at the sleeves of her hoodie again, tucked her legs up under her. “What if someday I forget how Piet looks too?”

Tony knew she wouldn’t be able to forget- traces of his face would be reflected back in mirrors until the day she dies- he wasn’t sure if telling her that would make it better or worse so he didn’t say anything.

He hugged her instead.

Tony wasn’t very good at hugging and Wanda wasn’t very good at being held. It's the kind of thing that comes with practice and neither of them got much of that. They were both rigid and awkward and Tony felt his shirt getting damp from Wanda’s tears, but as lousy as it was it felt warm and safe and both sides were reluctant to end it.

“Vi ste kao moj Otac- Uplašilo me ali _lijepo_ je” Wanda’s whispered into his chest. Her words a felt fragile somehow and even though Tony didn’t know what she meant he tried to memorise the moment. 

“Absolutely” The engineer replied “Unless you’re sassing me off _again_ , then you can go straight to hell” She barked a laugh.

“I said you should go bath you smell like oil” she lied.

 

Cap called her during lunch on a wednesday mid July, two and a half months after she’d moved in with them. A lot longer than the ‘ _just a month_ ’ he was promised, but it felt too soon. Tony just wanted a few more days, that’s all. A few more days of normal before her life becomes a warzone again.

“Apparently the compound is ready- the Captain will pick me up tomorrow morning. He asked me to thank you for keeping me, and uh thanks from me, also“ Wanda looked so girlish then, sleeves stretched over her hands and eyes cast at her stocking clad feet.

He thought about telling her to stay. Enrolling her in an online school, guitar lessons, sending her to _therapy_. He could get her a visa and teach her to drive. Keep her safe from scientists who wanted to examine her and politicians who wanted to use her. Do everything in his power to give Wanda Maximoff back some of the life his weapons stole from her.

She sent the familiar red tendrils of energy to grab her lukewarm coffee off his workbench and the thought died as quickly as it came. Kids like Wanda don't get normal.

However unfair that felt, it was just how things were. (He’d be damned if he wasn’t gonna _try_ make her take some online classes though).

Tony looked away, unable to grasp the right words. Pepper was always better at this.

“Listen...I'm sure Pepper would love you to visit so…come back anytime” When she didn’t reply he looked up from his tinkering to gauge her expression. 

“I want to see Pepper often” She said gently. Wanda looked a little shy, eyes cast down as she stared into the now empty coffee mug. “But I maybe have to return and see you also? For _Star Wars_ ”

He grinned, dropped the circuit board he was tinkering with and gestured for her to follow him out his workshop.   
  
  
“Nope, we’re doing that _now_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> I rewatched civil war and wanda’s snarky “You locked me in my room” made me get all found family feels (but quite frankly that movie was a mess and I refuse to believe any of it’s canon). 
> 
> Also Tony and Wanda would be such an interesting friendship, but the MCU thinks character development for women is ‘here have a toaster boyfriend’ and her traumatising childhood/ grief never gets addressed properly in AOU and is just forgotten about after that? Justice for MCU ladies please and thank you.


End file.
